In an intimate dining room at McCrady’s restaurant in Charleston, S.C., I sat in one of the 12 prized seats that surround a sleek, U-shaped counter with a view of the action in the open kitchen. The staff was laser-focused on every detail of each dish that comprises a posh, multi-course tasting menu designed by James Beard award-winning chef, Sean Brock.

Tweezers in hand, they huddled together over small plates like surgeons performing a delicate operation, meticulously placing every edible flower petal and piece of parsley. Each dish looked like a work of art, and I eagerly waited for the parade of delicacies to begin.

As much as I love getting away to this charming port city, it can be agonizing in one respect: I never know where to eat. More to the point, I have eaten so many delicious meals in this food-centric Southern destination over the years, I find myself in a dilemma. Should I repeat the culinary experiences I loved, or should I try something different? I can’t bear the thought of missing my favorite Low Country staples like shrimp and grits, roasted oysters and barbecue, but I don’t’ want to overlook the unexpected flavors and concepts that pop up here like kale at a farmer's market. OK, it’s not “Sophie’s Choice,” but it’s enough to keep an epicurean awake at night.

In between tours of antebellum mansions, a horse and carriage ride along cobblestone streets and a cruise of Charleston Harbor, I was always thinking of my next meal.
In the end, I decided to open myself to new experiences. Like a brave pioneer, I set out determined to report back my findings of an unknown territory to my people.

Of course, brave pioneers probably didn’t wear their favorite little black dress to do their exploring like I did at McCrady’s, Brock’s flagship restaurant that helped skyrocket him to culinary rock star status years ago. For my purposes, it qualifies as “new” because of his recent re-imagining of the overall dining concept as a tasting menu that showcases the flavors and ingredients of the South, but with a global perspective acquired from his travels.

Kitchen staff at McCrady's in Charleston, S.C., carefully plates dishes that are part of a new tasting menu.(Photo: Wesley K.H. Teo)

By the time I tucked into a small plate of aged, grilled beef with a side of faro-stuffed cabbage, I was no longer thinking of past meals, but fully engaged in the present one.
As a seafood lover that lives in a landlocked state, I was delighted by a course of briny clams followed by shrimp, and then thinly sliced cobia on a bed of fresh corn the color of sunshine.

Brock, who now calls Nashville home, said the innovative menu was partly inspired by his time in Japan, where he gained a new understanding of how dishes could flow harmoniously over a lengthy meal without leaving the diner feeling like a stuffed turkey by the end of it.

He eschewed old-school ideas about serving courses in a preordained order and decided to serve them according to what his finely-tuned palate told him was right.
“I started becoming interested in this concept of a dish as a song and the tasting menu as an album,” Brock said. “I would play track one and keep playing until I was certain each song flows into the next.”

Some dishes took dozens of tries to perfect. Take the cobia served with matsutake mushrooms and green peanuts, a different version of the cobia I enjoyed. It started with Brock’s vision of creating a white dish that was mundane on the plate, but tantalizing on the palate. His staff peeled countless peanuts, cooked lots of fish and fretted.
Brock’s frustration grew with each failure. The phrase, “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen” took on new meaning.

“It was the most intense I’ve ever been in the kitchen,” he says.” I would shake my head, and my team would run. They didn’t know if the plate was going to go flying.”

Eventually, Brock got over the idea the dish had to be snow white. What saved it was a dot of liquefied lovage, a dark green herb with a strong celery-like flavor. It was just the spark of intense, unexpected flavor Brock was looking for.

I know more about eating than cooking, so I felt privileged I got to enjoy the fruits of this talented chef’s labor.

Workshop

Not all of the delicious food in Charleston involves fine dining. Some of the best roasted oysters I’ve ever had were consumed in a converted gas station, so when I heard about Workshop, a unique food court that opened on upper King Street last May, I had to check it out.

It’s a laboratory of sorts for burgeoning chefs and entrepreneurs who want to try out their culinary experiments without the financial risks of a permanent establishment. A fully equipped kitchen is provided, and the rent is based on sales. I was happy to be a guinea pig.

There’s a rotating roster of five restaurants, so that perfect taco you eat today may not be there tomorrow.

Ethnic cuisine has never been Charleston’s culinary strength, but it’s plentiful at Workshop. After exploring my options, with included Mexican and Korean food, I stopped at Pink Bellies.

Not so long ago, Pink Bellies owner Thai Phi was selling his Vietnamese fare from a food cart near the campus of the College of Charleston. He thought it was time to take his business to the next level, so he set up his wok at Workshop.

I ordered a bowl of garlic noodles piled high with tender pulled pork and garnished with red onions. I’ve always relished the complexity of flavors in Vietnamese food — salty, sweet, citrusy, spicy goodness all perfectly balanced in one dish.

Garlic noodles are a popular dish at Pink Bellies, a restaurant at Workshop food court in Charleston, S.C.(Photo: Wesley K.H. Teo)

But what was this mysterious ingredient swirled inside the bowl? Parmesan cheese? Are you kidding me? I love cheese of almost any variety, but I thought Parmesan had no business crashing my Vietnamese party. I scowled at the bold interloper, but after tentatively slurping up a tangle of noodles with my chopsticks, I welcomed the cheese like it was the guest of honor.

It was further proof that being open minded about food in Charleston usually has its rewards. Of course, now I’m in a pickle. On my next trip to Charleston, do I go back to McCrady’s and Pink Bellies or do I try something new?